Detoxification is the process by which we rid our bodies of harmful
substances we create and encounter as a part of living: Our
internal processes produce toxins constantly, and our bodies are well
equipped to process and eliminate these internal toxins. A
concern in the industrial world is that the majority of our toxic
exposure is environmental,
from industrial byproducts. In 2003, the Center
for Disease Control published the Second National
Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, showing that
essentially 100% of the American population has objective
laboratory evidence of ongoing exposure to and bodily accumulation of
toxic chemicals known to cause adverse effects such as neurotoxicity,
endocrine disruption, and cancer.

How our bodies detoxify:

The liver has a major role in eliminating toxins from the
body. Detoxification occurs in two sequential phases. Each of these phases involves reactions mediated by
a number of different enzymes. Although an
essential first step, phase 1 reactions generate many reactive
intermediate products that are
potentially damaging. Phase 2 reactions convert these reactive
intermediates into water-soluble, non-harmful substances that
can be eliminated from the body. We then eliminate toxins in our
sweat, in our urine, through the action of bacteria in our colons, and to a
lesser extent through breathing. It is essential that phase 1 and
phase 2 activities function in balance with one another to minimize the
presence of intermediate metabolites and promote effective
detoxification.

While toxicologists study and treat acute toxic exposure, scientists
have not yet fully examined the chronic sub-lethal toxicological
influences that can impair physiological, emotional and physical
function. We are only beginning to understand the potential role
accumulating toxins can have on health. Another concern is that
toxins are generally investigated individually, or
one at a time. This is not at all similar to the situation in our
bodies, where toxins and chemicals accumulate together and are quite
likely to interact, possibly with increased toxic effect.

Due to tremendous genetic variation in detoxification enzymes, we
cannot assume that any two people will respond the same way to a given
substance at a given exposure level. Each of us
has a unique tolerance for toxic substances, based on our genetics,
our nutritional status and our general health. When this
tolerance is
exceeded, the body’s waste processing system becomes overburdened and
no longer functions adequately. Geneticists report that it is one
of the areas where there is the most genetic difference between
individuals. This is why it cannot be assumed that everyone will
react similarly to a known toxin or drug.

While detoxification is a new idea to Western medicine, it is integral
to many ancient medical traditions around the world. But
there is no sound scientific data for or against the practice. A
handful of reports support the benefits of detoxification, but they are
not rigorous. One small study found that dietary changes
and saunas helped to reverse memory and nerve problems in firemen who
had inhaled toxic chemicals in an electrical fire (Archives of
Environmental Health, 1989). Another that lab rats
fed low protein diet have higher rates of death when exposed to
pesticides. (Yu, M., environmental toxicology. 2001, Boca Raton: Lewis.
255). An NIH-sponsored trial of detoxification for patients with advanced
pancreatic cancer is currently under way at Columbia University in New York, and
preliminary results look quite promising.

Although a handful of reports support the benefits of detoxification,
rigorous studies are lacking. One commonly cited report from the
eighties found that fasting hastened recovery in people who had
accidentally ingested cooking oil laced with industrial poisons
(American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 1984). Another found that
dietary changes and saunas helped to reverse memory and nerve problems
in firemen who had inhaled toxic chemicals in an electrical fire
(Archives of Environmental Health, 1989). An NIH-sponsored trial of
detoxification for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer is
currently under way at Columbia University in New York.
LINK!!!
Maintaining healthy detoxification pathways is crucial to optimal
health. (See A Safe
Simple Detox) and given the inevitability of toxin exposure in
the modern
world, we can minimize damage and seek to improve toxin clearance by
some simple measures:

The concept that toxins accumulate in the body and
can cause health problems is fundamental to many traditional health
care systems around the world.
Because the biochemical processes of the body are not isolated to a
single system, changes in one affect other aspects of health. Some simple examples:

It is known that at least 100,000 deaths occur in hospitals each year
because of adverse reactions to drugs. Of these deaths, at least one third, or
30,000 deaths a year, have to do with detoxifications systems being unable to
process the drug as prescribed.

Breast cancer risk is known to be elevated in women who have EVER used
antibiotics. The reason is not proven, but a likely cause is that antibiotics
kill the very bacteria that our bodies use to detoxify estrogens.

Gilbert’s syndrome, an inherited and “benign” condition, also also
involves a difficulty with eliminating specific known toxins, and should avoid
them.